Smart grid utility networks connect to residence home area networks (HANs). In most of these networks, a smart meter (usually an electric meter) takes on the role of a trust center. As the trust center, the smart meter is responsible for acting as the network coordinator, storing network information and security keys, authenticating newly added devices to the HAN, and associating devices to the HAN. Over the years, the tasks and other roles of the trust center have expanded, and to this day these tasks and roles continue to expand. This expansion has been caused by evolving smart energy profile specifications and the amount of necessary HAN data that must be stored and processed (e.g., device profile information, software upgrades, sensed data, etc.) at the trust center. Consequently, having the meter act as the trust center in a smart grid HAN network is becoming an expensive proposition for utility companies from hardware, software, manageability, and maintenance perspectives.